Mission CRS-10 accomplished: the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has come back to Earth

The Dragon space cargo ship right after departing the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

A little while ago the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft ended its CRS-10 (Cargo Resupply Service 10) mission for NASA splashing down smoothly in the Pacific Ocean a little more than 420 kilometers (about 326 miles) off the coast of California. The Dragon left the International Space Station a few hours before.

Shortly after landing, the SpaceX Dragon boats went to retrieve it to transport it to the coast. The cargo brought back to Earth will be delivered to NASA soon, probably tomorrow. The Dragon spacecraft reached the International Space Station on February 23, 2017.

The Dragon spacecraft brought back to Earth more than 2,400 kg (about 5,400 lbs) of mixed cargo between the pressurized and the non-pressurized section that include various scientific experiments and biological samples. Part of the samples are contained in the freezers because they need to be kept at low temperatures. Some experiments were devised by non-profit organizations working with NASA in scientific and educational programs.

SpaceX is the only American company that has a spacecraft that can bring intact cargo back to Earth so the Dragon missions are really important for NASA. Samples produced during many of the experiments conducted on the International Space Station may require in-depth analyzes possible only in specialized laboratories on Earth.

Medical research, other biological research and experiments of other types are conducted on the Station. When they need to bring something back to Earth a little cargo can be transported together with the astronauts on the Soyuz spacecraft but their total volume requires a cargo spacecraft that can bring them back to Earth.

Among the experiments brought back to Earth there are the Microgravity Expanded Stem Cells on cell growth in microgravity and the Tissue Regeneration-Bone Defect that studies the obstacles in the growth of bones and tissues in vertebrates. They’re studies that may be useful in the medical field by comparing their results in microgravity and those of similar experiments conducted in normal conditions on Earth.

The next resupply mission for the Dragon cargo spacecraft could begin as early as April 9, although the launch dates are always approximate. For the moment they have to verify that the samples and experiments have returned to Earth undamaged. The collaboration with NASA remains critical for SpaceX’s activities so the fact that the CRS-10 mission went well after the problems experienced by Elon Musk’s company is a great success.